1. Field
The present invention relates to a method of using the Host Identity Protocol (HIP) to at least partially secure communications between two hosts operating in two different respective network environments, at least one of the two hosts being HIP-enabled.
2. Description of Related Art
When the Internet was originally devised, hosts were fixed in location and there was implicit trust between users despite the lack of real security or host identification protocols, and this situation continued even upon wider uptake and use of the technology. There was little need to consider techniques for dealing with host mobility since computers were relatively bulky and immobile.
With the revolution in telecommunications and computer industry in the early 1990's, smaller communication equipment and computers became more widely available and the invention of the World Wide Web, and all the services that emerged with it, finally made the Internet attractive for the average person. The combination of increasing usage of the network and mobile telecommunications created the need for secure mobility management in the Internet.
The increasing number of involved parties, and the monetary transactions that were needed for certain services, also created a need for added application level security. Currently, the most widely used encryption protocols, for example SSL/TLS, are running within the upper network layers, for example TCP.
Taking into account the above mobility management and security issues, the Mobile IP standard (C. Perkins, “IP Mobility Support for IPv4”, RFC 3220, IETF, 2002) and the Mobile IPv6 standard (D. Johnson, C. Perkins, J. Arkko, “Mobility Support in IPv6”, Internet Draft, work in progress, draft-ietf-mobileip-ipv6-24.txt, IETF, 2003) have been introduced. Together these specifications are planned to provide mobility support for the next generation Internet. Security work is developing in the form of IPsec, and related activities, such as various key exchange protocols, with the aim being to provide security in the IP layer. However, experience has shown that it is fairly hard to reach combined security and mobility using the current standards.